Reed finished the opening evening in second place, making a crucial pass on Carmichael late in the race.

“I wanted to make a clean pass on Carmichael,” said Reed. “It was just the first night of racing, so I didn’t want to make any enemies. I had to get the start on night two.”

The stage was set for Saturday night and a few simple scenarios would summarize the final chapter of the sold-out event. One, Carmichael needed to beat Vuillemin by two spots. Two, Reed needed to beat Carmichael to get the win.
Carmichael’s teammate Ernesto Fonseca jumped out to an early lead with the holeshot. On the opening lap, Carmichael passed Vuillemin while Fonseca crashed. Back in the pack, Reed put himself in the position he needed to be: on Carmichael’s back wheel.

Once Reed passed Vuillemin, the battle with Carmichael ensued. After several laps of tight racing, Reed made the pass and rode off to victory.

A very classy Reed donated the $100,000 first-place check to fellow Australian racer Jamie Brockman, who had been injured on the AMA Motocross circuit and was struggling financially with medical bills.

Obviously, money isn’t everything to Reed as he won for the pride and delivered goodwill to a friend in need. More importantly, he established his existence in the 250cc division.